GOSHEN — Jackson Diglio, an eighth-grader at C.J. Hooker Middle School in Goshen, took first place in the school's competition of the 2018 National Geographic Bee.

His classmates, Kapil Foster, Christopher Whitney and Benjamin Thurtle, took second, third and fourth place, respectively.

It was a close contest, with Kapil and Jackson making it to the final round and both answering each of their questions correctly. It took several more rounds of questions before Jackson was declared the winner.

The school bee was the first round in the 30th annual National Geographic Bee. Thousands of schools in the United States are participating in the bee this year. School champions will take a qualifying test: up to 100 of the top scorers in each state will then be eligible to compete in their state bee on April 6.

State winners will receive an all-expenses paid trip to Washington, D.C., to participate in the national championship in May and a $50,000 college scholarship, provided by the National Geographic Society.

Other prizes include a lifetime membership in the Society, a subscription to National Geographic magazine, and an all-expenses-paid Lindblad expedition to the Galapagos Islands aboard the new National Geographic Endeavour II.